Global Law Fellows

In 2011, Dean Michael A. Simons approved the Global Law Fellows program for foreign undergraduate, masters and doctoral students, allowing them to spend a semester at St. John’s School of Law as visiting researchers. Global Law Fellows enroll in a one-credit hour colloquium, providing them an academic peer group, a vehicle for providing U.S. and English language legal research skills development and regular faculty oversight of this diverse group of visiting researchers.

Candidates for Global Law Fellowships must express a need to do research in the United States, in New York City or with English language source materials. In addition, Global Law Fellows must have sufficient English language skills to benefit from a semester of research at St. John’s and must be nominated for a Fellowship by the chair or a senior member of their academic department or by a St. John’s faculty member.

Program Length
One semester (either August – December or January – May). The Dean may make exceptions on a case-by-case basis to allow two-semester (one full academic year) fellowships for doctoral students, if their research agenda would substantially benefit from the longer duration.

Academic Support
Fellows will receive a St. John’s University identification card that allows access to all University facilities (e.g., academic buildings, athletic facilities) and to receive support from University administrative offices (e.g., housing, student services). Fellows will have access to all Law School library and research facilities, including student accounts for WestLaw® and Lexis/Nexis® electronic legal research services. Fellows may also consult with faculty on matters related to their research, at the discretion of the individual faculty member.

Course Access
Fellows will be allowed to audit (attend but not sit for examinations or receive grades or academic credit) for up to six credit hours of courses offered at the Law School, on a space available basis and with the permission of the instructor.

Additional Opportunities
Fellows may be appointed a visiting fellow of the Center for International and Comparative Law and can be appointed as a contributing editor for the St. John’s Journal of International and Comparative Law. Fellows may be invited to present their research at research brown bag luncheons or (for doctoral researchers) at our faculty research sessions.

Visa Requirements
Fellows will normally require a J-1 visa and will generally be designated as a Short-term Scholar or Research Scholar. St. John’s University's Office of Global Studies will assist with visa formalities for Fellows.

Insurance Requirements
Fellows will be required to purchase Student Health Insurance for the duration of their residence at St. John’s University. U.S. Government rules for J-1 visa programs require U.S. insurance coverage for all foreign students or visiting scholars.

Admission Criteria
Because Fellows must be prepared to succeed in an environment that is challenging, entails research and writing in a foreign language for many and are representatives of their institutions while at St. John’s, admission to the Global Law Fellows program is very selective. Among the criteria we will consider in determining whether a student will be invited as a Fellow are:

Excellence of the student’s academic record
Faculty recommendations from the student’s home institution
Ability to speak, read, and write English to an academic standard
Value of the student’s research agenda
Maturity and character of the student

Projected Costs
Although costs will vary depending on the Fellow’s personal choices (e.g., housing, travel while in the U.S., entertainment), estimated costs of a Fellowship (excluding transportation to/from New York City) include:

Tuition for one-credit colloquium $2,547
Student Health Insurance (per semester) $1,247
J-1 visa fee $220
Student Activity fee $200
Housing and Living Expenses $10,179
Estimated Total Expense $14,393

For more information on the Law Global Fellows program at St. John's School of Law, please contact us.